Blüthner Records and Pianos

The 150+-year-old Leipzig-based Julius Blüthner Kaiserliche und Königliche Hofpianofortefabrik, founded in 1853 and now known as Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik GmbH, has issued a number of CDs in recent years, some handled by their own operations and others on/distributed by other labels. A listing of the offerings is available at http://www.blüthnerpiano.com/ [inactive 9/09], under two separate buttons, where they may be ordered, most single CDs for $15, some others and 2-CD sets for $18 or $20, all + shipping. American headquarters are at Blüthner USA, 5660 West Grand River Avenue, Lansing, MI 48906. Contact them at info@bluthnerpiano.com for the name and location of the dealer closest to you; dealers do not stock the CDs, however.

Paley takes the work at a slower pace than one is accustomed to, and must play all possible/potential repeats and/or create some to produce a performance that is nearly 30 minutes longer than Nazar's and Perahia's and more than 2.5 times the 38:40 length of the famous sprightly Glenn Gould 1955 recording. For starters, the opening aria takes Paley 5:20 in comparison with Nazar's 3:45. A few movements are less widely disparate, but Paley plays some of the slow movements at an almost achingly slow tempo (variations 12, at 4:40, and 13, at 4:09, in comparison with Nazar's 1:50 and 2:05 respectively, and 16 at 7:59 versus her 4:51, for example) that strikes this listener as tainted with sentimental Romanticism and uncharacteristic of Baroque style. Paley's touch is precise, and he does make the work sound light, as it would on the harpsichord for which it was composed. His is an enjoyable, if long, performance, and the warm Blüthner tone works surprisingly well because it is also always crisp. The accompanying single-fold booklet is, however, among the most minimalist I've ever encountered: a photo of the performer seated by the keyboard is on the cover, his bio inside, in German on the left and English on the right, and the standard photo of Blüthner's products is on the back, curiously with a blown-up shot of a special high-end version of its model no. 2 although a model no. 1 is used for the performance, as stated on the outside of the tray card. The inside of the tray card shows Paley seated at a piano in what appears to be a Blüthner showroom, and its outside gives the composer's name, the title, subtitle, and BWV/S number of the work, and the track listing — that's all you get about it. While it's admittedly one of the best known works in the world, thanks in part to the aforementioned Glenn Gould rendition, this has to be the ne plus ultra of reductio ad minimum (or should I write ad absurdum?). The aria and variation 3 (3:55 vs. Nazar's 1:25) are on the sampler.

While the title disappoints, the recording does not. It is a lovely program, well organized and balanced. Disk 1 opens with pianist Alexander Siloti's transcription of the Prelude in b minor, S.855a. The French Overture or Partita in b minor, S.831, is next, followed in turn by pianist Egon Petri's transcription of the Aria "Schafe können sicher weiden" ("Sheep May Safely Graze") from Cantata No. 208, and composer-pianist Ferruccio Busoni's transcription of the organ chorale-prelude "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Awake, the voice commands"), S.645. The French Suite No. 5 in G, S.816, concludes the first CD. The second opens with the Toccata in D, S.912. Busoni's transcription of the organ chorale-prelude "Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Christ" ("I Call to Thee, oh Lord"), S.639, follows. Next up is the Italian Concerto in F, S.971, followed by Leopold Godowsky's transcription of the Aria: Andante – Molto espressivo e cantabile movement of the Violin Sonata No. 3 in a minor, S.1003. The French Suite No. 4 in E flat, S.815, is next, followed by pianist Wilhelm Kempff's transcriptions of the organ chorale-preludes "It is Surely the Time/Now Rejoice, my Beloved Christ," S.307 & 734, into a single work, and his transcription of the Siciliano movement from the Flute Sonata No. 2 in E flat, S.1031. The Fantasia in c minor, S.906, follows, and pianist Dame Myra Hess' transcription of "Jesu Bleibet Meine Freude" ("Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"), perhaps the most famous and best-loved of all Bach transcriptions, concludes the program. There is nothing from this recording on the sampler. The performance is masterful; Corbett-Jones makes the piano speak as if it were, even for the Bach originals, the composer's intended instrument, and he makes its tone sound natural for all the works. This provides an immensely pleasing and rewarding listening experience. The booklet is likewise a superior production. The notes on the works, although not organized in performance order, but rather grouped by originals and transcriptions, are interesting, informative, and well-written. There are some errors, however: the heading for the description of the "Allemande" is missing, and there are a couple of typos (a "not" for "note" in the description of the Gavotte, for example). The ultra-brief bio of the pianist is followed by a fascinating interview conducted by Terry McNeill that is, in fact, a much more enjoyable way to learn of the pianist's training and inspiration than the customary boiler-plate detailed bio would be. There are black and white photos of an engraving of Bach and of Corbett-Jones; the only color is the sepia-toned cover reproducing a drawing of St George's Church in Eisenach. It also includes a list of other recordings by Corbett-Jones and the credits. Deceptively simple and restrained in appearance, the quality of this booklet greatly enhances the value of this truly fine recording.

In addition to the works mentioned above, the sampler (71:19) includes, from other CDs, Bezprozvannykh's performance of "Le Cygne"("The Swan") from Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnaval des Animaux; Paley's performance of the Rondo – Allegretto moderato movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. 21 in C, Op. 53 ("Waldstein"); Malan's performance of Mikhail Glinka's "Variations on a theme of Mozart [K.620]," for piano or harp; and Timur Sergeyenia's performances of Sergei Rachmaninov's Moment musical, Op. 16/4, and of Franz Liszt's transcription of Schubert's "Aufenhalt."

The USA is not crawling with Blüthners, but if you go to the website and click on Blüthner (there are other lines), you will see a history of the company; then click on the "Musicians" button in the top row, and you will learn that many famous pianists (including folks like Arthur Rubenstein, Ignaz Moscheles, Ferruccio Busoni, and Peter Serkin) chose or choose to perform on them. It is easy, for this listener at least, to understand why. The company's slogan is "The Golden Tone," which is also the title of the sampler disk. While it is distinctive — warm and rich, yet crisp and clear, with a certain restrained ring — it also clearly works better for music of some periods and composers than others. Yet, as the two Bach and Bach transcription programs demonstrate, in the hands of some pianists, these instruments can work well for music that one would not expect to sound "right" on them. Many readers might share my enthusiasm for the Blüthner sound if they had an opportunity to hear one live or if they chose to order one of the available recordings. This writer would counsel more care and precision with production and publication details in future CD releases, however, to increase their credibility as more than just their potential as marketing tools that clearly inspired the entry of the operation into this realm; most of them are fine products in their own right.